A Memorable Visit, by Ruth Van Loon

A story written by my Great Aunt Ruth about me and Bill (blog)

Josiah "what day do your feets and ankles grow the most?"

Dad "I don't know? What day do you think?"

J "probably Saturday."

Sent from my iPhone

Drifting

you would make uncle Jesse and Cooter proud!

(17) Manhattan Project: The Untold Story of the Making of the Atomic Bomb

Final Analysis: What a well written book.  I felt like I was watching all the development of the atomic bomb.  It was clear there was a much greater motivation for the engineers, scientists, technician and military personal than just their own careers.  They were not sure if it was possible, many new materials, processes and extraordinary amounts of work were completed in short amounts of time.  I wish I could work in that environment where the overall goal is much more vital than the individual.  Can you imagine a football team where everyone does their own thing and does not care about the rest of the team.  From this book I gathered that the entire (25,000+) people involved worked fluidly, though turbulent.  

Louis Armstong - Mack the Knife

I admire this man, because at 17 he adopted the mentally retarded orphan son of his deceased cousin.  He continued to care for him the rest of his life.  See http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-04-15/music/satchuated/ for more details.

The Manhattan Project

"  Despite constant improvisation, the outcome proved to be one of the most skillful jobs of town planning ever seen.  The town itself was a narrow strip less than one mile wide and six miles long, following a major ridge and crisscrossed by small ridges.  The original development was designed for three thousand cemesto-type, permanent homes.  Later thousands of prefabricated houses were added.  There were shipped to Oak Ridge in prefabricated sections, complete with walls, floors, room partitions, interior wiring and plumbing.  Even furniture was placed in the sections before shipping.  Most of the houses were factory built in Indiana, and by late 1943, the roads leading southward to Tennessee had become congested by a constant stream of trailer trucks, each carrying a piece of house which, with one side temporarily covered by canvas and some furniture already placed, resembled an oversized doll house.

Since time was too short for conventional building, new methods had to be devised.  Detroit’s assembly-line techniques were adopted, and construction was divided into separate operations, each performed by a specialized crew of workmen.  The system proved so efficient that workers were soon completing a house every two hours and turning them over for occupancy at a rate of 30 to 40 a day

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Despite this, Oak Ridge was not divided into a monotonous grid, with right-angle streets going in one direction from 1 to 100 and in the other from A to Z, but was designed to take advantage of the hills’ contours.  The streets followed the natural curves of the terrain without ever becoming too steep.  Shopping centers and schools were designed within easy reach of residential areas; each neighborhood had ready access to all services and facilities.  "

Citation: Stephane Groueff, "Manhattan Project, The Untold Story of the Making of the Atomic Bomb," 1967

Letter to Black Oak Ridge, TN resident purchasing their land by immanent domain 

Additional References:
http://ltc4940.blogspot.com/2008/09/oak-ridge-tn.html

(15) Rockets, Reactors and Computers Define the 20th Century A Firsthand Look at the Century's Most Pivotal Innovations

Author: Charles L. Bradshaw

Final Analysis: This book follows the career of Mr. Bradshaw from Tennessee Tech, to ABMA, to ORNL and back to NASA.  I myself having lived in Oak Ridge, TN, educated at TTU and worked at MSFC/NASA find this book educational and an overall great read (completed in 6 days).

Galaga

We are sitting in the Hospital as Abby recovers from her surgery.  Patty and I are taking turns having a break.  I went to children's harbor (rec center for the families at Children's Hosp), and what did I find? My all time favorite arcade game.  I think it is because my dad liked it so much.  I played it for about an hour without stopping.
- High Score: 1,001,400 (it only goes up to 1,000,000 then rolls over)
- Level: 117
- Cost: Free, if I paid at a quarter a turn-approx $15.00

I am officially looking for a used Galaga game for a cheap price.

Incredible

Irene Sendler

Through I have never met her, she has impacted my life.  This woman saved over 2500 children from the warsaw ghetto.  She put small children in the bottom of her tool box and the larger ones in her backpack.  Yes, 2500!

A baby from the 1940s might have married and had children, grandchildren, even great-grandchildren.  With a birthrate average of 2.6 in hte 1950's, 2.3 in the 1970's and 2.1 in the 1990's, it is possible that each child saved in turn saved 20 lives.  This one woman as of this year could have saved 50,000 people and over 100,000 by next generation!

Her efforts resulted in a severe beating and her legs being broken by the Nazi's!  Ironically she was up for the Nobel Peace Prize the same year Al Gore won!





Citations: http://www.jesussite.com/blog/2009/12/the-nobel-peace-prize/,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irena_Sendler